Sunday EVENING Sermon

"Providence Does Parties"
[Esther 1:1-22]
December 10, 2006 Emmanuel Orthodox Presbyterian Church

Tonight, we begin a look at the book of Esther. Esther was written about 500 B. C., around the same time that the prophets Ezra and Nehemiah were prophesying. It's about seventy-five years after our friend, Habakkuk, received his burden and was told that Israel was going to be slaughtered and taken into captivity by the Chaldeans.

By this time, the balance of power had shifted: the Persians had conquered the Chaldeans, and the Persian Empire ran from Greece to India and from Egypt up through Turkey. The Persians had a different view of taking captives than the Chaldeans did. The Chaldeans herded their captives off into Babylon -- into a central location, whereas the Persians thought it best to leave their captives in their lands and send representative rulers to rule over them. Thus, when Cyrus the Persian inherited the kingdom of the Medes and conquered Babylon and the Chaldeans, he told the captives that they were free to go back to their homelands. In Ezra and Nehemiah, we read about those who returned to Israel. In Esther, we read about those who remained where they had been brought, and specifically those in the one hundred and twenty-seven provinces that were ruled over by Ahasuerus, who was also known as Xerxes. He ruled over the area from India to Ethiopia.

Ahasuerus was the son of Darius the Mede, and was known as the conqueror of Greece, and he was a successful builder -- perhaps an architect. As Esther opens, we find that Ahasuerus also liked to party. And in the third year of his reign, he invited all of the powerful people in Persia, all of the nobles, and all of the princes, to come to a party and to look at the glories and the riches and the splendor and the majesty of his kingdom. And they oohed and aahed for one hundred and eighty days. For six months they toured and told Ahasuerus how wonderful, how magnificent, how glorious, how wise, how wealthy he was -- praise upon praise was heaped on him, and he received it as one who was deserving.

And Queen Vashti, the daughter of Cyrus the Mede, threw a party for the rich and powerful women of the land, in another part of the palace.

Does Ahasuerus remind you of anyone else in biblical history? From the book of Daniel, "At the end of twelve months [King Nebuchadnezzar] was walking around the royal palace of Babylon. The king spoke saying, 'Is not this great Babylon, that I have built for a royal dwelling by my mighty power and for the honor of my majesty?'" (Daniel 4:29-30) We may remember that God answered Nebuchadnezzer's question, "No," and caused him to become like an animal until he was humbled.

That did not happen with Ahasuerus. At the end of one hundred and eighty days of being told how wonderful he was, he called for a banquet, and for seven days straight they ate and drank and ate and drank. And they ate in the garden court -- can we picture it? "There were white and blue linen curtains fastened with cords of fine linen and purple on silver rods and marble pillars; and the couches were gold and silver on a mosaic pavement of alabaster, turquoise, and white and black marble." And they drank out of solid gold vessels, and they drank and drank and drank. And we're told that according to the law, drinking was not compulsory, so each man was free to drink as much or as little as pleased him.

Have you thrown parties like that?

Let me encourage you, warn you, not to watch T.V. preachers. Unless you are sure that the person preaching on your T.V. is a Christian and is fairly reliable as a preacher, don't watch them. Don't expose yourself to the nonsense that's on T.V. Spend your time in the Word, reading good books, talking with faithful Christians about the faith.

Why do I say that? Because most T.V. preachers are, at best, thoroughly unbiblical. I watched a few minutes of a popular T.V. preacher recently. He always wears perfect suits, and gold chains and rings full of diamonds, and he said this, "Some people have actually asked me why I wear thousand dollar suits and gold jewelry and diamonds and have a big house and a fancy car, and I explain to them that if I didn't look this good, people wouldn't worship God. If I drove a shabby car and wore an old suit and came up into the pulpit, no one would listen to me, because they wouldn't see the evidence of God's blessings upon me." God won't be glorified unless people look at me and see all of my stuff and praise me for it.

Why does this have to do with Ahasuerus? Both Ahasuerus and this T.V. preacher by their words and actions show their pride and vanity. They show that they have abused the gifts that God gave them and used them for their own ambition. Having received much more than most from the Hand of God, they were not thankful for them.

What about you? Are you thankful for what God has given you? Do you praise and glorify God for what He has given you and seek God's Wisdom that you might use what you have been given? Or, do you parade around and invite people to your home saying, "Look at me! Look what I did! Look how wonderful I am! Look what God gave me -- me -- wonderful me!"

The blessings God gives us are not to make us look better than others, but that we might use them in a way that honors and glorifies God. Greater blessings imply greater -- more -- service. Understand, God has given us the creation to enjoy -- not misuse, but enjoy. God is glorified when we joyfully enjoy all that God has given to us and give Him thanks. There is a difference between thankfully and joyfully receiving a raise, using that money to care for your family and to give to the work of God, and vainfully, pridefully receiving a raise with the attitude that you know you deserve it and now everyone else will know how great you are. It's not wrong to buy a Mercedes, if God has enabled you to afford it, and it will serve you well. It is wrong to buy a Mercedes, because you know if anyone deserves a Mercedes, it's you.

It was not wrong in-and-of itself for Ahasuerus to throw a party and to show everyone that blessings God had given him, but he was wrong to make it into a means for glorifying himself, and for taking this opportunity to get rip-roaring drunk -- especially in front of those who served under him.

After seven days of partying, we're told that "the heart of the king was merry with wine" -- read "rip-roaring drunk." In that state of mind, Ahasuerus called for his seven eunuchs "to bring Queen Vashti before the king, wearing her royal crown, in order to show off her beauty to the people and the officials, for she was beautiful to behold." Do you get the implication? The implication, as the commentator, Peter Merlin, points out, is that Ahasuerus wanted Vashti to come to the party wearing her royal crown -- and nothing else. She was another beautiful trophy that he wanted to show off. "Look at her. Look her over well. Do you see how great a man I must be to have a woman this beautiful?"

But Vashti refused. And Ahasuerus flew into a rage -- the party was over -- he had been insulted -- he was not going to take being treated like that -- not by her, not by anyone And he called for Memucan, one of the wise princes that he consulted on important matters and asked him what he should do.

Have you ever had a boss like that -- who's all fun and parties until he doesn't get his way, and then, "bang"? Have you ever been a boss, or a leader like that? Rev. Currie, elders, you are to be examples to the rest of the congregation is word and deed. Christians, we are to be examples to the rest of the world. We are to be light and salt. How are we doing? Are we taken seriously? Are we respected?

The commentator, Peter Merlin, wrote, "So often times the joyes of mortall men ende in sorrow, God accusing all intemperancie, and ryot, and turning the passions and desires of great men, whose joyes no man dares to trouble, to be the cause that they themselves trouble themselves. Wherefore God forbidde that we should envie at their prosperitie and delights, but rather rejoyce with spirituall joy, being content with our owne estate. For it is better to be content with little, to seele the favour and blessing of God, then in the middel of carnall delights and pleasures, to feare his wrath" (A Most Plaine and profitable Exposition of the Booke of Esther, delivered in 26 sermons, 45).

Then King Ahasuerus barked, "What shall we do to Queen Vashti, according to law, because she did not obey the command of King Ahasuerus brought to her by the eunuchs?"

What could Memucan say? "My lord, you're drunk and angry. Why not sleep on this and reconsider it in the morning when you are in a better frame of mind?" Is that what the wise man said? No, of course not. And if you have ever had someone who was drunk or blindly angry up in your face, you would understand that reasoning will not help at that moment. But Memucan went to the other extreme:

"My lord, Queen Vashti has wronged King, and not only the King, but all of his princes, and everyone who is here at the party, and even everyone throughout your entire, vast kingdom. Because the women at the other party will all know what has happened, and word of it will spread from the highest to the lowest of women, and everyone throughout the kingdom will know how she refused you and made you look like a fool -- before the entire kingdom. My lord, enter a law -- and enter it into the laws of the Persians and the Medes -- because once a king has issued a law, it cannot be repealed or changed, even by the king -- write a law that states that Queen Vashti is not longer Queen for what she has done -- divorce her via the law. And command every woman throughout the kingdom obey her husband or risk divorce. Find yourself another Queen -- a better Queen."

And King Ahasuerus was pleased with the wisdom of the wise prince, and he commanded the law, divorced the Queen, banned her from the palace, and made it law throughout the kingdom, that all wives must obey their husbands, or else. And the law was written in every language throughout the kingdom so everyone would know what the King had declared.

It is just that to destroy someone's world. When we speak foolishly or unkindly, when we listen to foolish advisors, when we put our trust in the way we feel about something, rather than relying on what God has said. That's the whole substance of the argument for inclusion of practicing homosexuals in the Church -- "I don't feel a God of love would want us to discriminate -- to be judgmental." Let us guard our tongues and watch who we listen to.

Merlin summaries like this: "Let us retaine temperance and sobrietie in our feasts; let us avoyd all vanitie and unseemly ostentation; let us bridle our wrath and the rage of our mindes; let us seeke counsaile of wise men, but without passion, seeking rather right and equitie, then revenge; let everie one according to his vocation, study to attaine true wisdome, and the knowledge of rights, lawes, and judgement & especially those, who ought to govern others with good consaile, that in all our meetings a lawfull order may be observed, and the ends of them may bee happie, being joyned together with the glorie of God, to whom only be all honor, strength, and power, for ever more. Amen" (Merlin 60).

So what is the point of the first chapter of Esther? We began with a pompous King throwing a party for himself and to his glory, and we ended with him divorcing his Queen, after listening to "yes men" and fools. Is there a point?

Paul wrote, "For whatever things were written before were written for our learning, that we through the patience and comfort of the Scriptures might have hope" (Romans 15:4).

Certainly, we can see in this first chapter an example of a ruler that teaches us that we ought to be good examples to those who serve us and those around us. Also, we ought to use good judgment. As Merlin put it, "We learn also out of his wordes, that to pronounce right judgement of any matter, it is requisite that all things bee weighed what may followe upon any thing, that the evils which may ensue bee prevented, but yet by such convenient remedies as shall not be more dangerous than the evils which be feared" (Merlin 73). And we, as servants of our King, ought to serve Him in a way that is pleasing and obedient.

But isn't there something else?

The book of Esther was debated for a number of years during the assembling of the canon; it's a troubling book for many reason, not the least of which is that God is never mentioned. Yet, it was for those same troubling reasons that the book of Esther was accepted into the canon. You see, we don't often meet God in a burning bush, or in a Transfiguration, and He only Incarnated once. But God is always here, always carry out His Plan, even when there is nothing flashy about it.

The Westminster Confession rightly puts it this way, "Although, in relation to the foreknowledge and decree of God, the first cause, all things come to pass immutably, and infallibly; yet, by the same providence, He ordereth them to fall out, according to the nature of second causes, either of necessity, freely, or contingently" (V.2)

In other words, King Ahasuerus freely and sinfully chose to sin against God, his Queen, and his people, through his party, drunkenness, anger, and divorce. Yet, it was also, and primarily to be understood as the Will of God that this occurred -- that the Hand of Providence worked through this party and Ahasuerus' sin to make Ahasuerus available to marry Esther and make her his Queen.

And that should be a comfort to us, not just in the book of Esther, but for all of our lives, that, though we are responsible for what we do, everything was set by God before the creation and God will unfailing carry out His Plan to its fulfillment. This God we can trust and have a sure and confident hope in. Let us living trusting and obedient lives, because our Good and Loving God is sovereignly and completely in control.

Let us pray:
Almighty and Sovereign God, forgive us for sinning, forgive us especially for the sin of attributing parts of our lives to fate or luck or chance. Give us confidence in Your Sovereignty, and give us eyes to see the working of Your Providence in our parties, and in all our lives. In Jesus' Name, Amen.